Fred Thompson and the evangelicals

The title of this report by Jonathan Martin of the Politico is “Evangelicals Turn on Thompson.” By this he means not that evagelicals or their leaders oppose Thompson but that Thompson “almost certainly will not receive a joint endorsement from the loose coalition of ‘pro-family’ organizations.” This report reminded me of a very socially conservative acquaintance who, opposed to Giuliani and McCain and unimpressed by Romney, asked me for months when Thompson was going to get into the race. Shortly after he entered, she had another question for me: “Do you think Duncan Hunter has any chance?”
Though a joint endorsement from a coalition of pro-family groups would have been a big boost, the Thompson campaign can take comfort from the fact that, Duncan Hunter notwithstanding, evangelical voters like my acquaintance ultimately will select from among Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Thompson (assuming Gingrich doesn’t enter the race). If he campaigns well, Thompson can reasonably expect to do quite well in this competition.
To comment on this post, go here.